back to the sit 'n go future

I’ve started playing a new sit ‘n go game. I’ve been playing the two table $5.50 sng on PokerStars.

I had kind of forgotten about sng for a while. I’ve been playing mostly limit hold’em cash game, sub $5 MTTs and some $4.40 180 player tournaments. I hit a downswing in the LHE so I was looking for a change of pace that doesn’t take as long as a big multi table tournament.

I played the $6.50 turbo 2 table sng with some success. Although I was profitable playing them I realized I wasn’t really enjoying them. The turbo format is a blessing and a curse. It can be tough when you’re constantly in push/fold preflop and the blinds going up so fast. Any small run of bad cards can threaten wipe you out very quickly.

So I’m trying out some $5.50. I used to play them around two years ago when I first switched to real money from play money. I didn't really have any clue about how to play and wasn't properly bankrolled for that level. I didn't experience much success and wisely gave up after a short attempt.

I read HOH I and II and went on two plus two and moved down to the $1.75 2 table turbos. I had some success there and moved up to the $6.50 2 table turbos. I was profitable at the $6.50 level as well so this is basically the same level. The quality of play is about the same and there are a good number of fish so it should be profitable.

The $5.50 has a slightly different structure. The levels are 10 minutes instead of the 5 minute levels in the turbos. They take around 1 1/2 hours to complete. The 10 minute levels [regular MTT levels are 15 minutes] is about right as there is more opportunity to play and outplay people. Still it finishes in a reasonable amount of time. The play around the bubble is pretty poor as some players become very weak tight attempting to just scrape into the money. That is a good opportunity to chip up and build a nice stack. Fourth is a false prize. I think you need to be gunning to finish in the top 2 where the payout is thick.

I've found the $5.50 2 table sng enjoyable so far. They are a nice change of pace from the cash game. I'm around break even over a small sample size. I hope I can run well and they'll be a source of bankroll profit.

Raised on the turn and river in limit hold'em

Getting raised in limit hold'em on the turn or river when you have top pair or an overpair is a tricky spot. At low stakes against generally loose passive players it's usually correct to fold. However a tricky player can exploit someone who is capable of bet/fold so at times it is good to call down. In a raised pot postflop the pot odds will be tempting to call down since you only have to be good a fraction of the time for the calldown to be profitable.

Here's a sequence of a couple of hands at a table I was playing recently. This was the first hand shortly after I sat at the table.


PokerStars 0.50/1.00 Hold'em (8 handed)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Qd, Qs.
2 folds, Hero raises, 4 folds, BB calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) Js, 4h, 7s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.25 BB) 9d (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.

River: (7.25 BB) Ac (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

Final Pot: 7.25 BB

Results below:
BB has 8d Jd (one pair, jacks).
Hero has Qd Qs (one pair, queens).
Outcome: Hero wins 7.25 BB.


I considered folding the turn to the checkraise. I had a read from watching earlier hands that BB was a bit tricky. It wasn't a bad play by BB on the turn, he had the gutshot plus 8x plus Jx as outs and some fold equity. Plus he might have the best hand on the turn if I'm double barreling AQ-AK. I'm glad I won the hand but I think it may have been a marginal calldown.


Shortly after that this hand happened.


PokerStars 0.50/1.00 Hold'em (8 handed)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Kc, Ad.
1 fold, UTG+1 calls, MP1 calls, 4 folds, Hero raises, UTG+1 calls, MP1 calls.

Flop: (6.50 SB) 6d, Kd, 7s (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG+1 folds, MP1 raises, Hero 3-bets, MP1 calls.

Turn: (6.25 BB) 4s (2 players)
Hero bets, MP1 calls.

River: (8.25 BB) Qs (2 players)
Hero bets, MP1 raises, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 12.25 BB

Results below:
Hero has Kc Ad (one pair, kings).
MP1 has 7c 7h (three of a kind, sevens).
Outcome: MP1 wins 12.25 BB.

This I think I probably should have folded on the river, despite the pot odds. The board is three flush, he raised the flop and then raised the river. This is not a bluff. Villain knows from a few hands earlier that I will call down a raise with an overpair so he's not raising me with less than a one pair hand because he's seen me call down with one pair. The board plus all the postflop action indicates top pair is no good on the river and the best play is to fold.